Two arrested for alleged burglary after Hampton Falls standoff

HAMPTON FALLS — An hours-long standoff that closed off Route 1 ended as cleanly as possible Tuesday when the barricaded suspects exited and surrendered to a State Police SWAT team at 6:45 p.m., police said.

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By Nick B. Reid

seacoastonline.com

By Nick B. Reid

Posted Jan. 14, 2014 at 1:36 PM
Updated Jan 14, 2014 at 10:09 PM

By Nick B. Reid

Posted Jan. 14, 2014 at 1:36 PM
Updated Jan 14, 2014 at 10:09 PM

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HAMPTON FALLS — An hours-long standoff that closed off Route 1 ended as cleanly as possible Tuesday when the barricaded suspects exited and surrendered to a State Police SWAT team at 6:45 p.m., police said.

Darren Gragg, 36, and Melissa Amato, 32, both of 24 Lafayette Road in Hampton Falls, were arrested without incident, according to Col. Robert Quinn, director of the New Hampshire State Police, who spoke at a press conference held at the Hampton Falls Fire Department.

The suspects were each charged with burglary by Hampton Falls police and transported to Rockingham County jail, Quinn said. Amato is being held on $100,000 bail, and Gragg is being held on $150,000 bail, according to Hampton Falls Police Chief Robbie Dirsa.

The incident began at 7:30 a.m. in Amesbury, Mass., when police there were called to a gas station to check on a suspicious vehicle, according to Amesbury police Lt. Bill Scholtz. When an officer responded, Gragg and Amato were sleeping in a car with dozens of items that “obviously didn't belong to them,” said Scholtz, who declined to elaborate on what the items were. Scholtz said the suspects gave police false names and fled while an officer was trying to identify them. He said Amesbury police didn't pursue the vehicle because school buses were filing into schools at the time.

Scholtz said an investigation led police to Hampton Falls, where Dirsa was able to help find the suspects in part because their vehicle was “very identifiable.” Amesbury and Hampton Falls police requested help from the State Police SWAT unit “as a result of (the suspects') failure to comply with officers' demands and the serious nature of this incident,” Quinn said.

The SWAT unit set up a perimeter and shut down Route 1 in an effort to protect the public during lengthy negotiations. Quinn said he couldn't comment on whether the suspects were armed.

“I want to commend the negotiators for having the ability to engage them for a lengthy period of time and encourage them to peacefully walk out the door and surrender,” Quinn said, also praising the cooperation of the involved departments.

Quinn said the investigation is ongoing in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

“Further charges may be coming in the future,” he said.

Amanda Rich, who said she was a neighbor of the suspects at 24 Lafayette Road, said the pair moved from their apartment to hers in an effort to elude police. She said the two apartments have a shared storage space, and her landlord notified her at 10:40 a.m. that the suspects apparently broke through the lock there to gain access to her apartment.

“He said 'They're in your apartment and the cops are here',” Rich said in a phone interview Tuesday night. “I started kind of freaking out. … My landlord also said (Gragg) owned guns or a gun — I'm not sure how many — I didn't know if it was going to be a huge, terrible situation.”

Rich said she expected to be able to return to her apartment Tuesday night. She said in a couple of months of living at that apartment, she'd only spoken to her neighbors twice and got the impression they were unfriendly.

“I've always steered clear of them,” she said.

Rich said she returned home on her lunch break only to find 10 state troopers stationed there. “It was a great welcoming,” she joked.

“I'm just glad it's over,” she said. “I've been anxiously awaiting the phone call saying I can go home all day. I'm just glad I finally got that phone call.”

Route 1 between the center of Hampton Falls and the Seabrook line was closed for several hours while police negotiated with the suspects in the persistent rain. In the end, Quinn said, “This couldn't have ended any better.”

“I tip my hat to the negotiators. … They did what they are trained to do and they did it well,” Quinn said.

Dirsa said Gragg and Amato will be arraigned at the Seabrook District Court Wednesday morning.